Encephalartos Caffir ( lat. Encephalartos caffer ) - a species of cycads of the Zamiace family ( Zamiaceae ), an endemic of the Republic of South Africa , a type species of the genus Encephalartos [1] .
| Encephalartos Caffir |
 |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| The kingdom : | Green plants |
| Department: | Cycotic ( Cycadophyta Bessey , 1907 ) |
| View: | Encephalartos Caffir |
|
| International Scientific Name |
|---|
Encephalartos caffer ( Thunb. ) Lehm. , 1834 |
| Security status |
|---|
Close to VulnerabilityIUCN 3.1 Near Threatened : 41929 |
|
Palm-like slowly growing dioecious plant. The trunk is short, about 35 cm long, reaching 20-25 cm in diameter. Large leaves of bright green color up to one meter per din, pinnately dissected. Leaflets of the lanceolate form, up to 10 cm long and about 1 cm wide, opposite, lower ones turning into prickles. On each plant instance, one yellow cone: a narrow-ovate pollen cone (up to 30 cm long and about 10 cm in diameter); seed cone ovoid shape (approximately 30 Γ 15 cm). Seeds are red, oblong.
The plant is naturally distributed in the Cape Province , along the coast of the Indian Ocean , from the city of Port Elizabeth in the south, to Durban in the north.
This species has traditionally been used by local tribes to obtain starchy food ( sago ) from the core of the stem; however, at present, due to a reduction in the natural habitat, the plant has practically ceased to be used as food.
One of the first cycads that fell into European greenhouses is cultivated as an ornamental plant .
For the first time the plant was described in 1775 by the Swedish botanist Karl Thunberg as a βnew type of palm treeβ called Cycas caffra .
Synonyms
- Cycas caffra Thunb. basionym
- Encephalartos brachyphyllus Lehm. & de Vriese
- Encephalartos cycadis Sweet
- Zamia caffra (Thunb.) Thunb.
- Zamia cycadis Lf
- Zamia elliptica Lodd. ex Miq. , nom. inval.
